I have a Canadian birth certificate having been born there. I was brought back to the UK when I was 2 yrs old, and have a British passport. My Canadian girlfriend and I are planning to emigrate to Canada for a while, possibly permanently. Consequently, I have a few questions:

1. Am I automatically entitled to a Canadian passport?

2. If I get one, do I have to relinquish my British one or can I have dual nationality?

3. Would there be any benefit to getting a Canadian passport over getting unrestricted permission to reside in Canada?

4. How easy/difficult is it to get a) a Canadian passport and b) a permit to reside there in my circumstance?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.


[This message has been edited by Jerome (edited 18 June 2001).]

 

have a look at

 

Cheers Mark.

That site told me virtually everything I needed to know, like I am a Canadian citizen!

 

Basically it comes down to the countries you want multiple nationalities in.

I know that Japan and Indonesia (& many others) only allow single nationality.

However UK, Oz and Swissieland all allow multiples. Only 5 more years and my passport collection reaches 3

Richard

 

You can certainly have dual nationality between GB and Canada. I know for a fact that Terry Matthews (Welsh founder of Newbridge Networks) holds dual nationality as a Canadian citizen as that is where his business is now based. Best bet is speak to the embassy and check.

Chris

 

Cheers for the replies guys. Looks like moving to Canada will be a cinch.

 

I have American and English, still carry 2 passports

 

Also handy as different passports work better in different parts of the world. Visiting Africa? That British Passport will do nicely sir. OO American passport? that will be $30 for a visa please.

Also handy if you visit a lot of dodgy countries, some of which hate each other. ie when visiting say Israel use 1 passport, when visiting arab countries, use another. Saves being dragged off the airplane at machine gun point. Happened to my dad when he forgot and used the wrong passport in IIRC Egypt. Didn't have dual nationality, just had 2 British passports, legal btw, if you can show good cause.

 

Again, more thanks. Also a couple more questions...

Firstly, I read somewhere some countries are a bit funny if you are travelling with both passports. Are you supposed to only travel with one passport at a time? I was hoping to travel into Canada on a Canadian one and back into the UK on a UK one.

Geoff,

What is a full format birth certificate? What I have is a small plastic covered credit card sized birth certificate with a photostat of the statement of birth with an official seal stamped into it. This is all my parents were given.

 

I had the 'credit card' one and another with the seal on it. To get a British passport you need one that states where your parents were born. That is the 'full format' version - by default you don't get that one in Canada ! I had to contact the Canadian authorities to get it. The British passport people just laugh at the standard Canadian birth certificate(s). I have had similar problems getting a British passport for my kids, as again they need the full format Canadian version to verify my parents details againstas I was born in Canada!

 

I was born in Canada and have both passports - you need a full format Canadian birth certificate though. I had real problems getting a British passport without one ( had to have it ! ). My brother was also born in Canada and lives here - he refuses to have a British passport though and has a right to abode entry in his Canadian passport. Contact Canada House as they are always helpful.

 

You can enter countries with any passport you like. But I wouldn't wave too many at any one time in front of immigration's face!

I once entered UK on my Australian because the UK queue was too long - then, when asked what I was doing in UK, told them visiting my parents....DOH! They p*ssed themselves at my *shorter queue* response and let me through

Richard